RESULTS’ Legacy of TB Advocacy

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most pressing global health challenges of our time. Despite being preventable and curable, TB kills approximately 250,000 people a year. What’s more, curing TB requires a lengthy treatment period, which is often interrupted by poor access and adherence to therapy. Moreover, multi-drug resistant strains of TB are emerging at alarming rates in several regions across the globe.

When RESULTS began advocating for TB funding in 1997, citing it as a critical health issue and key contributor to poverty, the U.S. provided less than $1 million in global TB funding. Since then, RESULTS has helped members of Congress realize that not only is TB a global epidemic, but the fight against HIV/AIDS will not succeed without an equally aggressive effort against TB. In 2015, U.S. agencies accelerated progress towards a TB-free world by focusing on 10 priority countries and providing treatments to over half a million people with multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB). However, it has been six years since U.S. bilateral TB funding has seen a substantial increase, and only 7% of USAID’s global health funding goes to TB.

As we commemorate World TB Day 2017, RESULTS continues to lead advocacy efforts to urge Congress to increase funding for the Global Fund and USAID TB. On March 21, RESULTS will host a briefing, TB kills 5,000 people a day – what are the solutions?, with congressional staff on Capitol Hill. Visit GHC’s online calendar to view details of the event, and other activities happening in Washington, DC around World TB Day 2017. Also, read the TB brief in GHC’s Global Health Briefing Book for more information and key figures on the global impact of TB.

For 35 years, RESULTS has been changing government priorities and people’s lives by combining the powerful voices of citizen advocates with research and oversight of U.S. anti-poverty efforts to shine a light on effective solutions to end poverty.